Categorical Eligibility

SNAP is the foundation of nutrition assistance programs. This program provides over 47 million individuals in nearly 23 million low-income households. The eligibility is not restricted to certain groups of individuals, and because of this, SNAP serves a vast amount of families with children, elderly people, and individuals with disabilities. Others eligible for SNAP include families with adults who work in low-wage jobs, unemployed workers, and those with a fixed income. The SNAP Program assists about 72 percent of people who live in households with children. Nearly 25 percent of households with seniors and individuals with disabilities, are also assisted (Rosenbaum, 2013).

For instance, there are behavioral or social reasons for nonparticipation. Some individuals who are eligible may not be aware of their eligibility. In 2009, it was estimated half of the households that were eligible did not participate because they either believed they were ineligible or were unsure if they were eligible. This lack of knowledge has encouraged efforts for SNAP outreach in some areas of the country, with partnering organization working with the state and local SNAP offices Additionally, when looking at explanations for nonparticipation, one might think about those individuals who choose not to participate despite being aware of their eligibility. Some households or individuals will never register for SNAP. These “non-compliers” could make this decisions either for personal reasons, a desire for independence, or issues with the administration of food stamps. Research has highlighted that SNAP participation is negatively impacted by long waiting periods at the local offices and other burdensome administrative and implementation issues for the states and participants (Bartlett, Burstein, & Hamilton, 2004; Currie & Grogger, 2001; U.S. General Accounting Office, 2001; Kabbani 2003; Ratcliffe, McKernan & Feingold, 2007; Zedlewski & Radar,

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is a government program for low-income individuals and families which allows them to receive nutrition assistance. Previously known as the Federal Food Stamp Program, SNAP was renamed in 2008 to fight stigma of those who participate in the program. The first food stamp program can date back to 1939 and was created by Milo Perkins who was able to see a solution for both farmers who had surpluses of crops and the undernourished population within the town.

1. A Categorical grant is a grant that passed by Congress that can only be spent on specific purposes. These grants are used mainly to aid state and local governments and are separated into two groups. Project grants are usually competed for by states while formula grants are given based on standardized formulas set by Congress.

In order for a person to be eligible for the U.S. welfare aid, program managers must determine a number of

Research has found that SNAP participants often participate in other public assistance programs (Cody, et al., 2007; Moffit, 2015). Literature has also shown that individual work status of prime age adults is related to SNAP participation; prime age adults with children or who participate in other assistance program that also participate in SNAP often are working low income households (Zedlewski & Rader, 2005). Acs and Schwabish (2011) examine the relationship between SNAP participation and work status given national level policy changes to the SNAP program in the Food Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002. They find after 2002 fewer individuals left the program overall and this effect was not limited to long term recipients. Suggesting the changes in SNAP policy encouraged more recipients to seek work and still receive SNAP and did not necessarily increase the number of working households to newly join SNAP. Between 2002 and 2007 SNAP participation among low-income families whom work grew by 10% (Cody, et al., 2007;Ratcliffe, Mckernan, & FInegold,

The Medicare and Medicaid federal programs were put in place as a way to help the less fortunate. Individuals with severe disabilities or over the age of 65 qualify for Medicare. This program helps them with health coverage, so the disabled and elderly who have Medicare do not have to worry about their medical bills and not going to the hospital when they are sick. Medicaid is a similar program, however, it only applies to low income families who cannot provide for their children. Similar to Medicare, this program covers any health related problems and takes away the worry and troubles that come with hospital bills.

The objective of this experiment was to discover how the concentration of hydrochloric acid affected the rate of reaction in a reaction with calcium carbonate. It was deduced through the experiment that an increase of concentration principally results in a greater rate of reaction. This can be justified through each data point increasing from the previous value, aside from the anomaly when the concentration was at 2 M. The correlation between the two variables was positive. The correlation was not as strong as expected due to the point while the concentration was at 2 M being well off the trend of the data.

The supplemental nutrition assistance program –SNAP helps families in domestic hunger safety. Most might refer to them as Food stamps. SNAP is helpful for people who need assistance facing poverty. The Hamilton Project says, “This makes it the country’s most critical tool in battling poverty. The program kept 4.9 million out of poverty in 2012.” Many may argue, why are people still being unassisted in receiving SNAP benefits? As Michael Tanner writes in his policy analysis, “Snap is a deeply troubled program that has high administrative costs and significant levels of fraud and abuse” (1). Which leads me to say, it is time for the state to

To be eligible for federal funds, however, states are required to provide Medicaid coverage for certain individuals who receive federally assisted income-maintenance payments, as well as for related groups not receiving cash payments. In addition to their Medicaid programs, most states have additional "state-only" programs to provide medical assistance for specified poor persons who do not qualify for Medicaid. Federal funds are not provided for state-only programs. The following enumerates the mandatory Medicaid "categorically needy" eligibility groups for which federal matching funds are provided: Limited-income families with children, as described in section 1931 of the Social Security Act, are generally eligible for Medicaid if they meet the requirements for the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program that were in effect in their state on July 16, 1996. Children under age 6 whose family income is at or below 133 percent of the FPL. (As of January 2011, the FPL has been set at $22,350 for a family of four in the continental U.S.; Alaska and Hawaii's FPLs are $27,940 and $25,710, respectively.). Pregnant women whose family income is below 133 percent of the FPL. (Services to these women are limited to those related to pregnancy, complications of pregnancy, delivery, and postpartum care.). Infants born to

My mother received SNAP benefits for three months while she was unemployed in 2013, but only received $17 a month for a family of three. The most one can receive in SNAP benefits for a family of three is $497. Now that she has a stable job and can afford groceries without the help of government aid, there is no way she ever spends $497 on food. The people who receive the entire amount allotted for their family size should not receive that much. This is more than enough money for a family of three to eat very well every single day, while there are some people in the lower middle class that cannot afford to have three meals a day. My father, for example, went through a time where he made too much money to receive any type of food stamps from the government, but he could not afford to have three meals a day. When he applied for SNAP benefits, he was denied due to the fact that he made around $1,300 per month, which is not very much because he had to pay for rent, a car payment, car insurance, and the utility bills. It was difficult for him to find enough food to make dinner for two people, if I was there over the weekend. The maximum one can make in monthly gross income for a household of one person is $1,245 to be eligible for SNAP benefits (Saddler, dhs.state.il.us). In Figure 1, there is a chart stating the amount of money a household is expected to receive in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits.

Although the Food Stamp Program is universal and selective, it is a great program to help the poor. Patti Landers (2007) stated: to be qualified for Food Stamps, “households [members] must have gross and net incomes below 130% and 100% of the poverty threshold, respectively” (p. 1946). Another study from the Florida Food Stamp Program also stated that “Family groups must have income and assets below the program standards, which includes meeting the poverty guideline of the federal government” (Program Description). It also says that family must cooperate with Child Support Enforcement agencies and food stamp participants must be a citizen of the United States or a holder of a registration alien card and they must be a resident of the

I had the pleasure of teaching Aamira for U.S History while she was attending Lowndes High School. She was an exceptional student that I will never forget. I taught Aamira while she was a senior in high school. She always impressed me with her honesty. Aamira turned in a test that I graded incorrectly even though she knew she would receive a lower grade.She was one of my most remarkable students I ever had. Her final project was exceptional, she discussed the foreign policy she was the only in the class to receive a grade of an 110. She always impressed me with her leadership abilities. After she was done with her classwork, she would go beyond and help other students that were struggling with the assignment that I handed out for the day. My class size was on the larger size and it was hard for me to help everyone, so it was great when Aamira would voluntarily help other students. Aamira constantly sought out constructive criticism so she could grow as a student, which is an uncommon quality in a high school student.

The SNAP program is based on the gross income a family makes and does not take into account the expenses that the family has such as school loans, car payments, and even household items such as diapers. Due to this system, many people who are working and making an effort to improve their lives are unable to make progress because this type of

Often times, people believe fear comes from a simple jump-scare or phobia. However, a sudden change in a situation can largely affect how the situation is viewed. In the short story "The Fall of the House of Usher," transformation creates the entire atmosphere of fear depicted. The popular Gothic poem "The Raven" develops the story through the narrator's changes throughout. In the online anthology known as the SCP Foundation, the various "SCPs" create terrifying and otherworldly effects through their extraordinary changes and behaviors. All of these demonstrate a simple concept: shifts within a story or plot, whether subtle or dramatic, often add new conflicts or levels of fear and danger to the characters' lives or the reader's experience.